A Pulse Of SoundChapter 1 Part 1 of 2
by JyrFalcon345
Summary: This is the first chapter of my story, to be read after the prolouge. It sets the stage for everything else.  Tell me what you thought of the characters and story. Was it too verbose?


Chapter 1: Timestream Part 1

The history teacher Sago led her students down a narrow branch toward a closed off subway tunnel. Sago was quite proud of her job, she imparted knowledge to the masses of newborns and in turn she had been given a choice roost near one of the air vents. The lesson plan for today was on the great adventures of the, by now legendary bat, Shade Silverwing. She had wanted to inspire her students with great stories of grandeur. Inspiring the current generation was becoming more and more difficult however. They were becoming fed up with the old stories, felt that it was in the past and did not apply to them.

She feared that they would soon become disconnected with their heritage. To prevent this, she had been the mastermind of the most ambitious project in their colony's history. It was called a MRC or (Memory Repository Chamber), but the children and adults simply called it the "Timestream". It was a three mile stretch of unused subway tunnel that had been walled off before the colony had even arrived. The tunnel was so deep underground that the air pressure, and tunnel density ensured that there was no need to even bother with ensuring that sound wouldn't escape. It had taken years to deposit the entire colonies history into the tunnel. And they still had a lot of free space. Sago halted before the entrance. "Now children, I will need you to be absolutely quiet. That means no talking, no whispering of any kind. Almost any sound that you make will be transmitted into the tunnel, and it will take days to overwrite it. All that you need to do, is latch onto the perches imbedded into the ceiling, flare your ears in the direction of the floor and the sound will bounce right in. Any questions?"

One of her students nodded her head. She had to smile. It was her prize pupil, Shiva. Since the first day of class she had shown an absolute thirst for knowledge and had a keen insight that continued to astound Sago. "Sago, why is it called the "Timestream" Sago thought for a moment and said, "It's not something that I can describe…you have to experience for yourself. " Someone behind her whispered, "Teachers pet." and snickered. Shiva didn't care. She actually enjoyed learning about history. She flew foreword as the the teacher slipped through the entrance way. As soon as she entered the cavern she heard voices, thousands of them, a chorus which rolled in and receded like the breakers on an alien sea. Sago, whispered to her students, "The section we are headed for is the "Historical Figures' section. Each section is marked with a sonic tag denoting the distance. I am assuming that you all memorized the tables that I gave you lat week pertaining to this…?" A barely audible groan rippled through the crowd. Shiva grinned, She had made sure to memorize the tables exactly. It wasn't as if she had known about this beforehand, but it was always a good idea to be prepared. And she could be sure that she would be asked relentlessly for the answers when Sago tested them on the next days lesson.

Sago whispered again, "Try to glide as much as possible children, Any air currents can create static, and when you do flap, try to do so gently." The group headed off down the tunnel, most stopping at what they guessed might be the correct markers. Sago shook her head. Shiva said to her teacher, "If you've reached one you've done your job." Sago looked at her pupil in surprise. It was as is Shiva had read her mind. "I just pray that you aren't the only one that I reach." Shiva stifled a giggle. Most of the students saw Sago as just another elder, one who was to be avoided at all costs. But Shiva knew that beneath the bat's wrinkled skin and graying fur, was a lively personality. Oddly she had always connected with adults better than her other peers, possibly because she had a slightly arrogant streak. She was the kind of individual who did not tolerate fools lightly, and if said fools continued to act like their namesakes she would delightedly tell them so.

They arrived at a marker which stated in a slightly fuzzy facsimile of Sago, "You have traveled 250 wingbeats and have arrived at the Historical Figures section. If you found this marker _without_ asking Shiva then bravo to you. If not, then study more." Shiva clamped her jaws shut to stifle the laughter that threatened to bubble up from her throat. Shiva looked up at Sago who rolled her eyes and then bent down and fired a bolt of sound at the spot. Sago's voice rang out clearly now, but without the insult tagged to the end of it.

The pair flew up to the ceiling and latched onto the perches, which were actually the ends of large stainless steel bolts which had been fired into the ceiling during the tunnel's construction. Shiva looked around with her echo vision and saw webs of silver extending from the ceiling to the floor. Some of them were shinier than others. Sago whispered, "The brighter a string is the clearer it will be to view. I recopied this one personally last night." Suddenly another bat flew up to them and roosted next to Shiva. It was her best friend-her only friend, Aries. He was another of the few students who actually paid attention in class. The pair had become friends when he had actually beaten her during a history quiz, and she had been so impressed that they quickly became friends. Aries's wings were black, with bands of white fur running diagonally across them. He had a voice that was gentle, and had a strange almost aristocratic air about him. The pair nodded in greeting and then flicked their ears toward the floor. At first there was nothing. Shiva only felt the warmth of Aries body as it brushed against hers. The air stilled. Shivered. And then the image of a bat wreathed in light formed itself in her mind's eye. "Hello and welcome to the Timestream Center. The story you are about to hear was originally recorded by Shade Silverwing and transcoded by Sago for ease of use. Please contact Sago if you have any questions or comments. Enjoy"

The image winked out, and Shiva was dimly aware of her friend and teacher beside her. Then without further fanfare it began. Shiva was speeding through a forest of pines in winter. Ice sparkled everywhere, snow covered the ground. She was hungry, she realized as she looked around. She could literally feel the cold on her fur, and it sucked the warmth from her body. Then the narration cut in, speaking clearly. " To put it simply, I wanted to find my father. I'd heard the stories, from my mother and from others. They all said one thing. "He's dead." I knew that there was more to it than that. I had two choices: either I could accept his death and try to move on, or I could try to find out whether he was really alive or dead. I chose the latter, which explained why I and a group of others including the former chief elder Frieda my mother and my future mate Marina. We had been flying hard recently as we had just narrowly avoided getting apprehended by a group of owl sentries. All of us were tired, except Chinook who was focused on using that encounter to his advantage in regards to Marina. Shiva felt the fatigue eating away at her reserves and felt her character's head swivel left to view Marina and Chinook. She ground her teeth in frustration as Marina chuckled at something that Chinook had said. Momentarily, Shiva thought, "So that's what its like to be a guy and actually want to –" But the story moved on, and Shiva reopened her mind hanging onto every word with renewed vigor. Shade wasn't just some figure in a history lesson, here he was being represented as an actual being with whom one could connect. The group flew onward entering a field, covered with snow, the outlines of fenceposts muted by the white substance. Suddenly she heard a voice, the call of a thousand voices each of them entreating him to come closer. The voices led her toward a human building, and in the wall was a recessed metal grate from which puffs of warm, sun kissed air jetted, and beyond that she heard the flutter of wingbeats and more voices. She heard the voices of her comrades urging her to stop and reconsider. But it was too late. Without a second thought she flew toward the metal door which snapped upwards into a hidden recess. She went through and suddenly the door clanged shut behind her. The voices stopped, and a powerful wind rose up behind her blasting her forward. A door at the bottom opened o receive her, emitting a shaft of golden light. Here the recording paused and she hung suspended in mid air. The narrator spoke. "I often wonder what might have happened if I hadn't gone through that door…." The image began to creep foreward, his voice echoing cavernously. "But If I haden't we would not be where we are today. And it is at this point that the true story begins. The part that deals with the humans at least. Their Promise. Their lies. And their ultimate betrayal…" Shiva felt a sinking felling in the pit of her stomach. The feeling of elation had dimmed somewhat. And then she was released completely from her state of limbo and fell down the chute, head over heels into sunlight. It was summer…


End file.
